Jake Herbert v Jake Varner : Speakers & Interviews

Stalling no stalling, good match. It was Herbert about 12 attempted offensive moves to Varner's 6 all match, but take the opportunity when it's there. However, Herbert will be coming home with the WC title. Varner. Welp, he's got this match. Wee.

Besides, Ryan Morningstar is by far the most boring wrestler in NCAAs. You hope Ethan Lofthouse beats Borinstar out for the starting spot at UI.

If this is Intl style, Herbert dominates.

how much weight did jake have to cut?

varner is the single most boring wrestler in the NCAA. granted he is a champ, but he makes schlatter look like John smith. varner, great wizzer...that is about the extent of his style. varner could give a clinic on wizzer, that he all he can accomplish. end of 1st period, 2 more seconds and herbert scores

Jake has the perfect style for international wrestling imo. doesn't look too exciting but it's technical and he capitalizes on ppl mistakes.

he also was resting/training for a year. without worrying about school.

did herbert tap the mat consecutively as in a TAPOUT motion at the edge of the mat, 1 rd . varner wins if they meet again n again.

go jake!
i predict that jake will win if these two ever meet again

"Shooting" is not synonomous with attacking. Varner had plenty of attacks and really worked hard with his ties. Martin conveniently overlooked Herbert's primadonna act while not praising his Varner for imposing his style on Herbert. Varner waits for you to make a mistake and that Jap wizard was Herbert's mistake. At the same time, Varner's ride was ridiculous. When O'Connor uses the crab ride that isn't stalling because the mpve entails a gradual process but Varner's ride did nothing from top

My God Martin!..why don't you ask Herbert out on a date

Varner is a bull!! I heard that dude's strength is not human

Some of you all are looking at this with partisan blinders on. Varner should have been hit with stalling at least a couple of time. Virtually no attempt at offense.

'theres nothing wrong with it, except for the fact that it's not exciting'.. haha

holy crap that was a good match!

herbert wont beat jake! sure hes defensive, you cant say herbert will beat next time because of that! all that means is if jake would open up jake would destroy everyone.

Herbert was coming off an injury.

whooooo

seems that Jake Varner's style of not taking any chances or risks has caught up to him. He can win matches defensively but to win a championship he is going to have to take shots.

Wrestling defensively doesnt always win matches though. U want a good example of that then take a look at Dustin Schlatter. Last year and this year he has wrestled very defensively and it cost him his second NCAA Championship

Yea just like he destroyed him this time, which is what everyone claimed when it was first heard Herbert was entering the tournament. By going for a takedown, if you mean throwing caution to the wind and just trying for anything thinking he'd be able to do it to a tough defensive wrestler like Varner, then yea, he was guilty. I saw Varner take some attempts...maybe not the throw himself at him and hope for the takedown attempts, but attempts. If he feels a takedown isn't there, then why should he go for it just to make you or anyone else happy? I remember a saying, "Offense wins games, defense wins Championships". Hmmm, I like it!

Yeah but I bet the next time they wrestle Herbert will destroy him!

A win is a win either way you look at it. I don't care if varner literally ran from herbert, if the ref didn't call it and varner won so be it.

If moving forward does not equate to offense, then moving backwards towards the edge of the mat does not bode well for the freestyle training Herbert! If he is in such freestyle mode then he certainly wouldn't be wrestling on the edge of the mat or even moving towards it like he did. He was in it to beat Varner, and whether or not he was in freestyle mode or not, it didn't work. Plain and simple. And...I also remember last years final between these two...when Varner would tripod up, Herbert just hung on without trying to take him back down and was never called for stalling, just as Varner held him. Funny how when your favorite is wrestling, you want all the calls to favor him.

Moving forward does not equate to offense. Like I said before if the sport were filled with Varners it would be two guys just pushing each other and waiting.

varner stood his ground never backed up herbert backed up all over the mat varner was the only one that tried to keep it in the center always moving forward

Wrestling IS filled with defensive wrestlers... that said, pretty good match considering the low score.

boy if Herbert does not push the action in this match VERY little happens. What a snooz fest if our sport were filled with Jake Varners.

any person who really knows wrestling knows varner is not stalling i think y'all need to watch the above video again and pretend you have no clue who each wrestler is and you will see clearly no stalling a smart wrestler

EXCUSES, EXCUSES, EXCUSES!!! IT JUST BLOWS MY MIND HOW SO MANY PEOPLE SAY VARNER STALLED WHEN NEITHER OF THE REFS CALLED IT AND THE COACHES AND HERBERT NEVER ARGUED IT..IT'S ONLY YOU PEOPLE WHO CAN'T ACCEPT DEFEAT..!! SO QUIT YOUR WHINING AND ACCEPT THAT VARNER WON FAIR AND SQUARE AND DID A HELL OF A JOB DOING IT TOO! ..I GUESS THAT'S WHY HE IS THE NUMBER 1 WRESTLER IN THE NATION!!!! WAY TO GO JAKE!!WE LOVE YOU AND YOUR STYLE IN BAKERSFIELD, CA

Adda boy Jake, were proud of you lad!

the commenter needs to shut the hell up he is suppose to be nuetral

I particularily laughed at the comments by the commentator regarding Varner and stalling.

Varner moved forward the entire match. He did not back up at all. He tried working head & arm ties and was unsuccessful. Herbert simply couldn't take him down even when he had deep shots.

When Varner was on top the commentator commented about stalling however Varner was not riding the hips and simply had the half in. Varner was out on the side with the half. It wasn't as if he was pulling an ankle or something.

You may not like Varner's slowing the pace calculated style but he's not riding the hips nor is backing up. He is not stalling.

no way that herbert makes the olympics.
no way at all.

i was goin 4 varner but he did stall quit a bit, but a win is a win and im a cali boy!

varner must be so much stronger if herbert can not score with a body lock. Martin can do whatever he wants, and we should all be thankful that he does the hard work he does to bring us these matches.

You Varner Bashers need to get a life!! The kid is a two time Cal. State Champion, an NCAA runner-up as a RS Freshman and he just beat the NCAA champion and all you can do is blame the refs??? Just because Herbert took a year off from school to try and make our Olympic team doesn't mean that he is the "the Chosen one"...he might be a great guy but your comments are not making me feel the love! You guys would probably boo a perfect game in baseball because their was no offense, instead of appreciating the talent,strategy and preparation of the opponent. I didn't realize that there were so many armchair quarterbacks in wrestling....bottom line is your guy lost, get over it. Great job Jake, we are proud of you in Bakersfield!!! Have a happy New Year.

varner took 4th, 2nd, 1st, 1st in high school

I HAVE BEEN WATCHING VARNER SINCE HE WAS A FRESHMAN AT BAKERSFIELD HS. HE TOOK A 4TH&THREE 1ST's AT THE CA. STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS. WRESTLING THE VERY WAY U SAW HIM WRESTLE HERBERT. YES HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN CALLED FOR STALLING.

6:1 a year ago. Someone/something has happened over the course of a year. All this garbage about Varner not doing anything...is just that... garbage! He did enough to make a point difference from a year ago of 6:1 to 1:3. That's a 7 point swing!!
What is wrong with being a tactical wrestler. Ali was a tactical fighter. He would let the other boxer punch themself out with his rope- a - dope! If your dopey enough to fall for it, you deserve what you get.
How many times do you get to tap out when your at a disadvantage like Herbert did?

Olympic Hopeful??? Really?

HOMER!! Great Gameplan on Varners part and ISU

i think the commentator is exactly right in what he is saying... Varner didn't do anything... last time i checked coaches didn't teach how to wait for your opponent to mess up in order for someone to win

You people need to quite complaining about the "bias of the commentator." This is his site and he can be as biased as he wants, if he feels like it. And what do any of you know about the way Herbert trained for this match? Some of you act like you know everything. Varner is the most draining wrestler of the 2007-2008 season....Cael should teach him some offense.

Jake Varner has Improved greatly fromlast year he is tough as nails just look where he has learned it.I think Jake Herbert is in shock he had the trophy inhis pocket,he thought!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!New Sherrif in town

Wow....for someone who is running such a maor website, Mr Flo needs to be a lot less biased and opinionated. If I was Varner, or someone from Iowa St, I would be pissed after listening to this. Its kind of bogus. Varner wrestled his style, and won the match. Herbert didnt train the way he needed to....he was outta shape, and instead of continuing the match into 2OT, Herbert decided to go for a big move and see if it would work. Martin....LOVE the sight, hate the commentary, in this match.

varner didnt even wrestle he was just holding on and defending. and herbert can wrestle cuz its an open tournement

wait if hes takin a year off from school....... why is he wrestling in this

what is wrong with the announcers? they seem to hate varner what idiots it was a good match with two of the best going at it

Varner didn't win the match, Herbert lost it. Give credit to Varner for being able to keep it close. Varner should have been warned early, not dinged for stalling. The arm spin in OT when the guys are slippery was poor technique.

IMO, similar to D.S., sooner or later momentum will catch up with the defensive style of varner

IMO, similar to D.S., sooner or later momentum will catch up with the defensive style of varner

Is it me, or is Varner a bit of a loose cannon? (an a criminal justice major)

I love in overtime right before Varner scores the winning takedown...HERBERT! HERBERT! HERBERT! This commentary rocks!!!

It's all about winning isn't it. Wrestling is no different than any other sport. Take football as an example. You're playing in a bowl game against a team that you know has a poor run defense but great passing defense. What do you do? You run the ball down their throat. You beat them 13-3 and you end up holding the ball for 40 minutes to their 20. Maybe boring to some but great strategy and a solid game. What Herbert and Kish now know is that this is how Varner will wrestle them and they have to figure out Varner's vulnerabilities and exploit them to their advantage. Remember that when Herbert wrestled Askren for the championship, he tried to better Askren at what Askren does best and Herbert lost big time. A different approach may have resulted in a closer score.

very funny commentary, i love you flo

I dont think you should leave the match up to the refs because when you do that the match never turns out the way it should have. im not saying the refs werent doing their job, but that match was a good match either way you look at it.

I think a win is a win no matter how it happened. Good job Varner, it's a well deserved match for you.

I guess it comes down to this. I am more of an Iowa fan after watching Varner wrestle. I just can't follow a team that wrestles to neutralize the action like that.

i think that varner wrestled smart. He wrestled to beat herbert.

Wow. I didn't really get the comments, but I get it now. Our sport is at a crossroads, and if it comes down to it loosing out to more exciting sports......I hope that they are not tuning in to see a Varner match cause we our sport will be down for the count. The refs got caught like a deer in the headlights.

That's terrible how Varner won that match. Could he do any less in that match? It's upsetting that a wrestler of one of the most electrifying coaches, Cael Sanderson, can be that boring and have that little offense.

I agree with the commentary being one-sided and a bit annoying plus wheres the varner interview after beating the national champ. Varner knew herbert would come out shooting. Why would he want to shoot and put himself in a possible bad position when he knows his defense is nails. Its called strategy. Plus after the first period Herbert had little offense, and Varner keppt him moving. Great job Jake, Makin cali proud.

Varner wrestled an awesome match. He overcame adversity and beat the defending national champ. His way of wrestling will carry him to a national title.

Varner's strategy against offensive minded wrestlers (e.g. Herbert & Kish) is to slow them down and not go to toe with them. What's wrong with that? Make them wrestle another way that they're not used to. This is similar to the way Muhammad Ali beat Foreman. Why slug out with a slugger? Watch Varner against lesser offensive minded wrestlers and you'll find pins and majors. It's knowing the strengths of your opponents and neutralizing them. The opponents of Varner and the Schlattes will need to figure out how to defeat them.

Varner has zero offense. If Herbert stops switching off to the waist on his shot finishes.....he wins this one easy.

That's quite the commentary- I especially like the play by play on the contact.

hmmm. while there wasn't a hell of a lot of action out of varner, i like his control of the middle of the mat, and his nice defense. throw some QUALITY shots in between his ties (like the Russians) and he might have something.

I don't think Varner was stalling at all. He circled the mat well and didn't block out of any of Herbert's offense. If you are busy fighting off offensive attacks and attacking when you have the chance that doesn't seem to be stalling to me. Varner wrestled a better match, he neutralized Herbert's offense with great defensive counters and made aggressive moves at the right time. Terrible throw attempt at the end by Herbert, don't like that decision at all.

Jake and Nick Simmons - deff in freestyle mode....takes time to get into college mode.....jake thinking today "how is it at 197 in 2009?"
surprised he did not take varner out with the way he wrestled in the tourney

Herbert was tired/frustrated and hit an arm throw with no chance of scoring against a wrestler like Varner. Typical red shirt effects, just a tad below the shape he needs to be in to beat the best guys. Tsirstis as well.

Wrestling Cael everyday helps.....I think varner got tired of getting takedown by cael that he developed a stong caller tie so he can slow down cael and hartung.....he discovered if he can stop cael with collar tie then he can stop everyone else.....STALLING....STALLING....STALLING.....I will give him some credit when he saw herbert losing steam varner picked up the pace....

wow, have to agree stalling should have been called early

damn, i wanted herb to win so bad. at least he has class to shake Caels hand afterwards.

i like martins onesided commentary. it makes it more entertaining, besides, he is a colorful commentator

I don't understand the argument that Freestyle makes a collegiate wrestler worse or teaches bad habits. Freestyle wrestling teaches wrestlers not to expose their backs at all times. It helps wrestlers stay in better position through scrambles and in regular takedown defense. Good wrestlers will get to your legs, how you defend from there will determine who scores the takedown.

Martin you should really be less one sided in your commentary

I don't know what you guys are talking about.You can't blame Varner for not shooting as much as he did, Herbert didn't give him a chance. Herbert was shooting non-stop without setting up a single shot. Varner had amazing defense. Herbert should be embarrassed with his performance. His free-style training is really hurting his folksytle.

ya

Great match...I was surprised to see herbert not finish his three or four different beautiful shots. He wrestles like a 157 pounder (speed, low level). Was any one else shocked to see him come to the waist on his single finishes, instead of staying on the ankle? With that said, Varner is a brute. He is a bruiser that is in great shape. He is so physical out there. I can't wait to see these guys wrestler for another NCAA title in 2009!!!

In the real world where stalling is called, Varner is disqualified. C'mon refs, help out the sport!

Varner is the real deal. Wrestling Sanderson every night must have its up side.

Jesus christ varner is huge... He should have gotten hit for stalling there he didnt deserve this imo

What a great Match!!!! Good Job to both wrestlers

Herbert was in freestyle mode when he hit that arm throw